Jeff Byrne

    IN the late 1970s, Australian winemakers entered a prestigious international wine exhibition in France. They scooped the pool which caused much angst for French winemakers who believed they produced the world’s best wines.

    Critics wrote that French vignerons had become complacent, relying on their reputations, while Australian vignerons had experimented with the latest technology to produce a superior product. This is called innovation, which has taken us to the moon and the far reaches of the universe. It has given us bigger and safer aircraft, as well a safer and more economical automobiles, which are, however, only as safe as their drivers. And, we now have a computer that we can carry in our pockets. We have come a long way.

    This is why it is so dumbfounding that there are companies that ignore innovation. Rest on their laurels, so to speak.

    One is the American so-called icon of the photographic world, Kodak. At least 110 years ago, Kodak pioneered photography, particularly for the common people. It was affordable and at the forefront of home photo snaps for most of the past century.

    It pushed ahead with the invention of the first digital camera in 1975. But here is where it all went wrong. The company was in the business of selling film and the cameras that used it, so the digital camera, which still had a long way to go, was shelved, along with it, innovation. It ceased producing Kodachrome film three years ago and has already closed more than a dozen factories with the loss of 47,000 jobs.

    Other camera producers saw the potential of the new technology, picked it up and ran with it. Kodak was left behind because it failed to see the future. Last month, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.

    Another failure, closer to my heart, is Fletcher Jones, which manufactured high-quality clothing in Australia. At its peak, Fletcher Jones employed 3,000 people in four factories. To reward employees, the company allowed them to become shareholders. It also employed indigenous workers and the disabled. People who knew Sir David Fletcher Jones say he had a terrible stutter but greeted employees each morning and ate with them in the company canteen. Clearly a man ahead of his time who could see beyond the horizon.

    Jones died in 1977 and his son took over. Another family, the Dimmicks, bought the company in 1995. Just 10 years later, the company closed.

    Instead of concentrating on quality and looking to the changing fashion of a modern society, the Dimmick family decided to compete with discount outlets, a fatal decision as it turned out.

    In their book, “Refashioning the Rag Trade,” Sally Weller and Michael Webber say poor branding compromised the company. Weller says the company should have focused on niche marketing with a “middle-class respectability.” The company had been making a good profit and the brand was associated with the welfare of its employees, Weller says.

    The failure was blamed on a retail slump, the rise of the Internet and cheap Chinese imports. But the real reason was the failure to look to the future, to encourage innovation.

    Americans have a saying: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But sometimes, we need to fix things before they break. The world needs more people who can see beyond the horizon. People like Sir David Fletcher Jones.

    (The author is a former Shenzhen Daily senior copy editor and writer.)